This invention relates to a home and garden-type sprayer for spraying liquids such as weed killers onto unwanted plants, for example.
There are basically two common types of spray containers for home and garden general use. In one system the weed killer, or whatever liquid that is to be sprayed, is placed in a plastic container. An opening is provided in the top of the container and a hand operated trigger style pump is inserted through this opening and locked in place while the container is being shipped. The container is not pressurized. The pump is finger operated and provides a dispensing of the contained liquid onto directed vegetation. However, this system is only suitable for very small amounts of spraying in as much as the liquid in the container is dispersed solely by the finger operated pump, which is limited by the finger getting tired rather rapidly.
Another common spraying system for homes and gardens includes round metallic or plastic tanks which are provided with a hand pump which is screwed into an opening at the top of the tank. There is also a hose which extends sealingly out through another hole in the tank to a valve wand for spraying. In this system the tanks are sold dry, that is, no liquids in them. When it is desired to use the tank, the pump is withdrawn, and the desired liquid or chemical is poured into the tank. The pump is reinserted into the tank and tightened to form a seal. The plunger of the pump is then reciprocated to build up the desired pressure. Thereafter the valve on the hose is released to direct chemical onto the selected plant.
An explanation of a typical hand pump container is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,373,973, issued Dec. 20, 1994.